By Luke Hunt
The Diplomat
It’s been quite a couple of weeks on the South-east Asia diplomatic circuit. Julia Gillard toured the region for the first time as Australian prime minister, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton popped in for the odd summit, and old wounds festered—and in some cases were re-opened.
This was certainly true in Phnom Penh. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has never been a great friend of the United Nations, particularly given the decades of international recognition the world body once afforded his old nemesis Pol Pot and his dreaded Khmer Rouge.
Of course, the UN did make some amends by stepping in and sorting out the country’s first democratic elections back 1993, which provided Hun Sen with the foundations for his future power base. However, even UN support for the current Khmer Rouge tribunal—more a product of the personal patronage of former Secretary General Kofi Annan than any sense of justice within the UN legal system—has failed to elevate the body to any level of respect in his eyes.
The relationship between Hun Sen and the UN has always been a marred by internal politics, with a wily and always combative prime minister ruling an uncompromising roost.
Please click here to read more...
This was certainly true in Phnom Penh. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has never been a great friend of the United Nations, particularly given the decades of international recognition the world body once afforded his old nemesis Pol Pot and his dreaded Khmer Rouge.
Of course, the UN did make some amends by stepping in and sorting out the country’s first democratic elections back 1993, which provided Hun Sen with the foundations for his future power base. However, even UN support for the current Khmer Rouge tribunal—more a product of the personal patronage of former Secretary General Kofi Annan than any sense of justice within the UN legal system—has failed to elevate the body to any level of respect in his eyes.
The relationship between Hun Sen and the UN has always been a marred by internal politics, with a wily and always combative prime minister ruling an uncompromising roost.
Please click here to read more...
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